The Odd Couple
by Twisted Vixen
Summary: Shikamaru is moving out of his family home. Naruto's apartment building has been slated for demolition. Neither make enough on their chuunin salaries to get a place in a decent part of Konoha. Together though... Eventual ShikaNaruShika yaoi
1. Apartment Hunting

**Summary:** Shikamaru is moving out of his family home. Naruto's apartment building has been slated for demolition. Neither make enough on their chuunin salaries to get a place in a decent part of Konoha. Together though...

**Pairings:** ShikaNaruShika

**Notes:** Just for the record, Naruto is 17, Shikamaru is 18. Everyone else who appears I'm sure you can figure out from there. This is somewhat AU I guess, since for purposes you will soon see, Sasuke is back in the village.

Don't hate me! Yes, I know I should be working on other things. However, this is the first time I've had inspiration since my mom passed away. I'm glad to have that finally. So I figured I'll write this until my inspiration points me elsewhere. But, just to appease you all, I am in the process of editing Hiding Behind Masks. I'm figuring by the time I get done editing it all I'll have the new chapter in my head. I'll do the same with my other stories.

**Disclaimer:** Kishi owns it all...not me. I just like making the characters dance to my own tune.

* * *

**THE ODD COUPLE  
**

**Ch. 1 - Apartment Hunting**

* * *

"Shikamaru."

"..."

"Shika."

"..."

Ino's eyebrow twitched. Not a good sign for the dozing chuunin. Finally, she reached out and yanked him by his ponytail.

"OW! Dammit woman!"

"Shut up! You deserve it you lazy bum! You're the one that's planning to move out, not me. I'm only here to help you search for a place, not do all the work!"

Shikamaru yawned. "It's too troublesome to look."

"Then quit complaining and stay at home with your so called 'nagging mother.' I swear, I don't know why I agreed to help you. I should've just left Chouji to do it. I could be shopping right now, or painting my nails, or hanging out with forehead-"

"Oh fine, just give me the paper." Anything was better than hearing his teammate go on and on. He didn't want to be bothered with all this work. But he was tired of his mother bugging him all the time about stuff. How his father dealt with her, he had no idea. All he knew was that he needed his own space so that if he wanted to lay around all day, he could do it without having to hear his mother complain about it. Or he could leave his clothes on the floor and she wouldn't bug him to pick them up.

He checked out the things Ino had circled so far. Just great.... They're all in the best parts of Konoha. He couldn't afford that. He rolled his eyes and took a pen and started crossing those out and circling some other choices.

"What are you doing? Those are nice apartments. Don't cross those out!" Ino grabbed the paper back.

"Ino, you think I'm rich or something?"

"Of course not. But-"

"I can't afford these."

"Well there's no way you're moving over here." She pointed to the ads he circled. "It's disgusting over on that side of town."

"So? Naruto lives there." He pointed out as he propped up his head with his hand. Ino snorted.

"Your point? I don't even know why he still lives there. His building looks like a strong wind would blow it down. Why would you want to live somewhere like that?"

"Because it's cheap. And I won't be bothered."

"You know, if you weren't too lazy to become a jounin, you'd have more money."

"It's too much work."

"Everything is too much work for you."

"That's true." Shikamaru put his head back on the table, ready to doze off again.

Ino sighed and rolled her eyes, then pulled on his arm. "Well, come on then."

"What Ino?" He asked as he opened one eye. He would shake her off, but it was too much of a pain to bother.

"We're going apartment hunting."

"Can't I just call?"

"No Shika! You have to see how a place looks. You can't just agree to rent an apartment without seeing how it looks. Now let's go!" She hauled him up with surprising strength and pulled the unwilling male along.

"What a drag..."

* * *

Naruto slowly walked home, tuckered out from hours of heavy training. Kakashi really worked him to death today. He remembered back when he wanted Kakashi to be serious when it came to training him. Now he was starting to wish the man would give him a break. Who would've thought that the man, just as well known for his laziness as Shikamaru, could wear even him out? All he wanted to do was soak in his bathtub for as long as he could, eat some ramen, and then sleep for days.

He walked through his building's front door, which was just hanging on one hinge, and ignored the sign haphazardly taped to the door. There was always some random note or ad plastered on the doors and walls and he never bothered to read them. He climbed the many flights of stairs to the top floor, cursing Kakashi with every step as his already sore muscles burned. No one met him along the way since there were very few tenants left in the building - some because the knowledge that the Kyuubi holder lived in the building was a deterrent, and others...well, the building hadn't been taken care of in a few years. He wasn't even sure who the landlord was anymore. He just left his rent money in the payment slot at the end of the month. Since he still had an apartment, he assumed the rent went to the right person.

When he finally reached his floor, he pulled out his key to unlock the door when he actually_ looked_ at the door. What got his attention were the words in big bold black letters against a red sheet of paper.

**NOTICE**

**BUILDING SLATED FOR DEMOLITION**

There were other details he didn't bother reading. The important part was the date, which was five days from now.

FIVE days from NOW...

His eyes got wide. Five days! How could he find a place and move all of his things out in that time? He didn't even have enough money to get another place. He spent most of his last mission's pay on new weapons, some new jumpsuits, and ramen. Beyond the money he was saving for rent, he was flat broke.

"Well crap..."

* * *

"...and the bedrooms are through here."

A whack on the back of the head kept Shikamaru from dozing off while standing up.

"Wake up! At least act like you care. This is for you after all." Ino told him with her hands on her hips.

He rubbed the back of his head with a grimace. "Ino, this place looks the same as the last place, which looks the same as the place before that and the place before that."

"Very funny, Shika. This is definitely the nicest place so far. And it's got a great view of Konoha. And the bathroom is huge!"

"Is this apartment for me or for you?"

"Don't be stupid Shika. Anyways, this is perfect!"

"And it's 15,000 ryo."

"You act like that's a lot."

"Probably because it is."

"You're just cheap!"

Shikamaru sighed and shrugged, then turned and started to walk out the door.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Ino, it's too troublesome, not to mention a waste of time, to keep looking at places I can't afford."

The blonde ran and intercepted him before he could open the door and leave. "Ok, ok, just wait a second." She blocked the doorway, not that it meant much. If the shadow user really wanted to, he could move her out the way, but it was too much work. "Look, you say you can't afford it."

"That's right."

"Well, there's an easy way to solve that problem."

"Really?"

"Yep." Ino smiled and nodded her head. This apartment was too nice to let him pass up. Besides, her team needed a nice place to hang out. "Get a roommate."

Shikamaru looked at her blandly. "No."

"But Shika, it's the perfect solution."

"No."

"Give me one good reason why."

"It's too troublesome to have a roommate." Except Chouji, of course. But he knew his friend had no plans to move outside of his clan's home.

"I said a _good_ reason."

"I like my privacy."

Ino wanted to yank on her hair in frustration. "ARGH! Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Why do you have to be so bossy?" Shikamaru retorted. A blonde eyebrow twitched with anger.

"What did you say?!" Ino growled.

"Well, what do you both think?" Fortunately for the shadow nin, they were interrupted by the cheery woman that was showing the apartment. Ino gave her teammate a glare promising pain, but even still, Shikamaru didn't budge.

"Thank you for your time, ma'am. I need some time to think over it," He replied. Ino looked depressed. She wanted to scream at her idiot of a teammate.

"No problem. Don't take too long though. Places like this don't last very long."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Naruto towel-dried his hair while he walked to the kitchen. A few drops of water still made silvery trails down his bare chest until it stopped at the waistband of his gray sweats. He whistled a tune as he pulled out a pot and filled it with water from the sink. After turning on the burner, he placed the pot over the fire and walked away. While the water slowly heated, he took the waiting time to clean up a bit. Those who were friends of Naruto would be shocked to know that he'd finally learned to clean up after himself. He wasn't even sure what started it really. Maybe it was that one day his apartment was so dirty he couldn't even find his hitai-ite. He remembered spending hours cleaning up in order to find it. Ever since then, he had kept his small apartment relatively clean.

He heard the water boiling and ran back to the kitchen and turned off the burner. He reached up into the cabinet above.

"OW!" Even his shoulders hurt. Damn Kakashi!

Pulling out four cups of ramen, he went about filling the cups with hot water. Then came the three minute wait. He still hated it, even now. So he entertained himself by tapping his fingers to some random beat in his head until the time was up.

Finally, the torturous three minutes ended and he grabbed up his cups and sat down at his rickety table. He slurped down the first and second cups with gusto. He was starving after all.

Now...what to do about an apartment....

He never had to worry about an apartment before. When he was a child, he had to move quite a bit - some of the Konoha residents could be quite cruel and had destroyed his home more than once. But in those instances, old man Hokage would help him move into a new place. And he'd been in this apartment since he was twelve. So he had no idea where to start.

Maybe he could get baa-chan to find one for him.

He slurped down the last two cups and sighed happily now that his tummy was satisfied. He shrugged off his thoughts and tossed the cups in garbage.

"Eh...I'm too tired to care."

He'd ask her tomorrow. Right now he just wanted to sleep.

* * *

Shikamaru was lying on top of his roof looking up at the stars. It wasn't as relaxing as the clouds, but it would do. It was quiet and that was all that mattered at the moment. And no one would find him here.

_"Shikamaru!"_

Or not...

He sighed, but didn't move. As long as he stayed quiet, his mother wouldn't know where he was. Unfortunately, because of the quiet, he could hear his parents quite clearly.

_"Shikaku, where's your lazy son?"_

_"How should I know? And why is it that whenever you're mad at him he becomes my son?"_

_"Because he's just like you. Lazy! I swear, I don't know why I put up __with either of you."_

_"Troublesome..."_

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru echoed his father. Was it really so hard to get some peace and quiet?

A few minutes later, he saw his father hop onto the roof and walk toward him.

"Should've known you'd be out here."

Shikamaru didn't say anything.

"Hiding from your mother?"

"Nah, just looking for some peace and quiet."

The older Nara smirked. "Uh huh...hiding from your mother." Shikaku sat down beside his son with a sigh. "You know, you can't hide from her forever."

"I don't see why not."

Shikaku chuckled. "You know, your mother, she's not all that bad."

"Uh huh."

"She's just opinionated."

"Uh huh."

"And fussy."

"Uh huh."

"But she does care about you."

"Uh huh." The father looked down at his son.

"I'm not convincing you, am I?"

"Not really."

_"SHIKAKU!"_

"Oh hell..." The man groaned.

"Lazy idiot, get in here and bring your lazy son with you!"

Both males groaned.

"Troublesome woman."

Shikamaru mentally agreed.

He really had to hurry and find a place.

--

_There's the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Just trying to get myself out of this rut. :) - T.V.  
_


	2. Say What?

**Summary:** Shikamaru is moving out of his family home. Naruto's apartment building has been slated for demolition. Neither make enough on their chuunin salaries to get a place in a decent part of Konoha. Together though...

**Pairings:** ShikaNaruShika

**a/n:** Thanks much for your reviews! I appreciate every single one of them. I hope you'll enjoy the second installment.

**Disclaimer:** Kishi owns it all...not me. I just like making the characters dance to my own tune.

* * *

**THE ODD COUPLE  
**

**Ch. 2 - Say What?  
**

* * *

A couple of days went by and Naruto was no closer to finding a new apartment than he was when he started. Tsunade wasn't much help. The first time he tried to ask for help, she was already on her third bottle of sake after dealing with the council for some reason or another. Needless to say, that didn't go well.

The second time was a day later. She had been asleep and, at the sound of his voice, had knocked him through a wall. Of course, it was only natural that he got up yelling at her. He was doing ok until he called her a drunk old hag in the heat of anger. There was now a huge Naruto shaped indentation in the wall on the other side of the hallway where the blond landed after the Hokage threw a chakra infused punch at him.

Now it was day three and he was hoping that the third time would be the charm.

He passed by the spot he flew into yesterday. The unfortunate ninja who ended up assigned to fix the mess gave him a glare. He glanced away and moved on quickly.

Of course, he found her asleep at her desk, snoring loudly and drooling on her paperwork. But no one could say that he didn't learn from his mistakes. So, he created a clone to wake her up while he stood far back against the door. The clone leaned down until his mouth was close to her ear. He took a deep breath and then yelled.

"BAA-CHAN WAKE UP!"

Tsunade, with a half snore, jolted awake. She glared at the clone, who was doubled over laughing, and punched him. The clone dispelled with a cloud of smoke. Before the smoke cleared, Naruto's senses started going haywire just in time to see the round object that came out of the smoke, which was speeding on target toward his face.

"Shit!" He ducked and heard the crash as whatever it was went over his head and through the wood door. He pretended not to hear the exclamation of the repairman right outside the door. The poor guy would never finish his job. "You trying to kill me you old hag?!"

Another object came flying that, this time, he couldn't avoid.

Ok...so he learned from _one_ of his mistakes.

With a groan, he rubbed his sore head and stood up. As the smoke cleared, he could see Tsunade's eye twitching and one hand balled into a fist. "Brat...If you're here to bother me about an apartment again I'm going to hurt you."

"Uh..."

"Naruto..."

Naruto tried his best to look and sound pitiful, hoping for some sympathy. "But baa-chan, I only have two days left to find a new place."

"Have you actually _looked_ for one?" He gave her a sheepish look and raised his arm to rub the back of his head.

"Well...no?"

"Then why the hell are you here?! Do I look like a landlord to you?"

"No...But, I don't know where to start." Naruto replied with a pout.

The blonde woman sighed and calmed down. She knew the young man couldn't help not knowing these things. She reached on the other side of her desk, grabbed a newspaper and tossed it to him.

"Here brat. Start with this." She watched him look down at the paper in confusion. The poor kid probably never even looked at a newspaper before. "Go to the classified section, look for apartments for rent, and then go down the list. That's it."

Naruto still looked confused, but he gave her a smile anyway. "Thanks baa-chan."

"You're welcome. Now get the hell out of my office and don't bother me again brat."

Naruto left her office quickly, before she could get violent again, and breathed a sigh of relief. At least his limbs were still in tact this time. And he did get a newspaper out of the deal. Too bad that looking meant nothing if he didn't have enough money to pay for anything.

Maybe he should go back and ask baa-chan for some extra missions. Though she already warned him not to come back. He had a feeling she might just try to kill him if he bothered her again.

So he ended up walking back toward...well, he couldn't exactly call it home anymore, could he? On the way, he passed the gates of the dilapidated Uchiha district.

Wait a minute...

Naruto backed up a few steps and looked through the gates for the longest time. And then he slowly flashed his trademark grin.

Just maybe he had found a solution to his problem.

* * *

The team of three made their way into the village. They were a little worse for wear, but nothing unusual after coming back from a B ranked mission. The largest of the three groaned as his stomach growled loudly.

"I'm soooo hungry."

"You're always hungry Chouji." Ino replied with a roll of her eyes.

"I can't help it. I ate the last of my rations at the edge of Fire Country." Chouji patted his empty tummy.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed wistfully as the team walked toward the hokage tower to give their report. He always felt a bit more nostalgic whenever they returned from a mission. It was a tradition, started by Asuma, to go for barbecue to celebrate a successful mission. But Asuma wasn't here. "We'll get something after our report."

"Not until I take a shower! I refuse to go out like this. Yuck!" Ino pulled her sticky shirt a few inches away from her body in distaste.

"Fine, whatever...after that then, troublesome woman." He replied.

"Well come on then. The sooner we report, the sooner we eat!" Chouji said with a grin. He walked faster and Ino followed suit. Shikamaru was the only one who hung back.

"Hurry up you lazy ass!"

The shadow-nin rolled his eyes and grumbled, but moved marginally faster.

* * *

"What did you say?"

There was a dangerous undertone in the sound of that voice. But Naruto ignored it and grinned at his teammate.

"I said can I stay with you for a while?"

Sasuke's response was to slam the door in the blond's face.

"Come on teme! Please? It's only until I find a new place." Naruto knocked again and yelled through the door.

Silence.

"Dammit teme! Open the door or I'll camp out on your doorstep all day and...uh...I'll...I'll talk your ear off. Yeah!" It was lame, Naruto knew. But he figured the teme would at least respond to it. But, he still didn't hear anything. So, he climbed through the bushes and peeked through the windows. No Sasuke in sight. He climbed the walls to the second floor and looked again. Still no Sasuke.

"Bastard! He snuck out on me." With a growl, he felt for Sasuke's chakra and, after finding it, followed the trail to the training ground not far from the house. He stood behind a tree and watched his teammate practice taijutsu. It was the only thing the Uchiha was allowed to do since he was still on probation after coming back to Konoha.

"See something you like dobe?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. The blond was so loud, he couldn't help but hear him enter the clearing.

Naruto's mind sputtered to a stop. First he blushed at the intimation then, when his sense kicked in, his eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "Shut up teme!" He growled. Then he pointed at him. "You know it's rude to leave when someone is talking to you." Sasuke stopped moving and raised an eyebrow at the blond.

"You were talking? The way I see it, you were just spouting nonsense."

"It's not nonsense. And would you just give me a second to explain?"

"What's to explain? You asked. I said no. End of story."

"But they're tearing down my apartment in two days."

"Not my problem."

"Pleeeeeease? It's only until I find a new place."

"Ask someone else."

"Like who?"

"Don't you have any other friends?" Anyone but him.

"Yeah, but you're my best friend."

"Not by choice..." Sasuke muttered.

"Besides," Naruto continued, "why would I do that when you have all this room to yourself? Come on teme...it's not like you can't spare one room."

Sasuke sighed. This conversation was going nowhere fast. He had a feeling he would regret it if he said yes. But, if he didn't agree, Naruto would bug him the rest of the day and he'd never get any training in. He glared at the ground like it was the one at fault for putting him in this position. He couldn't win, could he?

"One week."

"Huh?" The Uchiha rolled his eyes. He hated repeating himself.

"You can stay for one week. So you better hurry and find yourself a place. If you don't, expect to find everything you own burned to ashes. I mean it dobe."

"So I can stay?"

"Yes usuratonkachi, you can stay. Now leave me alone and let me train in peace." Sasuke glared for emphasis to forestall Naruto's celebration - Naruto was just about to jump on his best friend and yell at the top of his lungs. But the glare, stopped the hyperactive ninja in his tracks.

"Yeah yeah fine. Thanks teme, I owe you." He waved and started back down the path he appeared from. "I'll go get my stuff. Later teme!"

"Hn." He watched the blond jog away.

Yes, he was certain he would regret this.

* * *

The barbecue sizzled on the grill in front of the three teammates. Chouji tapped his fingers impatiently against the table, practically drooling over the food that was taking way too long to cook. Shikamaru decided it was easier to doze until the meat was finished.

"You know Chouji, that's not going to make it cook any faster." Ino stated.

"I can't help it Ino. I'm starving." He looked over at his dozing best friend. "Hey, Shika. How's the apartment hunt going?"

"Hm?" The other man yawned and opened his eyes halfway. "Alright, I guess."

"Liar!" Ino yelled. Then she explained the activities of a few days before. "I ended up being the one who did all the work! And then I had to drag him along to look at the options."

"You didn't have to Ino." Shikamaru retorted, his voice muffled by the arms covering his head. "It's too much work to find a place."

"With that attitude, you'll be staying with your mother forever!" Ino glared at him. "Chouji, I found the perfect place. But he won't take it."

"Why not?" He asked.

"I don't have the money." "He's too cheap!" Came two explanations.

"I told him he should just get a roommate to share the expenses, but he won't listen to me." Ino continued her version of events.

"Why don't you just get a roommate?" Chouji asked Shikamaru.

The other male groaned. "It's too troublesome to have a roommate."

"That's not a reason." The blonde growled.

"It's reason enough for me."

In the meantime, Chouji grabbed a grilled piece of meat and started eating. "You two can keep arguing if you want, but I'm eating." He said through bites.

Ino punched him in the arm. "Don't hog it all!" She put a few pieces on her plate and then, being the nice person that she was, pulled a few pieces for Shikamaru. Kami knows if she didn't, Chouji would eat the rest and he wouldn't get any. Although, it would serve him right.

* * *

The blond ninja walked, mumbling a song under his breath. Well, it wasn't actually a song...more like, "Ramen, ramen, I love ramen" over and over again. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Shikamaru and Chouji coming out of the barbecue stand and split off to go different directions. Shikamaru walked his way.

"Hey Shikamaru."

"Naruto."

"Where you headed?"

"Anywhere that's away from Ino."

"What did she do?" Somehow, Naruto had steered the lazy ninja away from the direction he was originally headed and toward Ichiraku Ramen.

"Nothing more than usual. She's such a pain." He looked around, surprised at where he ended up, but at the same time not really surprised, considering his company. He shrugged and sat in a stool next to the blond and rested his head on top of his arms. As long as it was away from his meddling teammate, he didn't care where he ended up.

"Gimme the usual old man!" Naruto yelled to the ramen chef.

"Sure thing Naruto."

A piping hot bowl of ramen was placed in front of the drooling blond. He breathed in the wonderful aroma and smiled. Then he grabbed his chopsticks and broke them apart.

"Itadakimasu!"

The first bowl was inhaled within seconds and replaced with a second bowl. Then a third. In the midst of his fourth bowl, he remembered his companion and glanced to the side. "You're not going to order anything?"

"I just ate."

Naruto shrugged and turned back to his bowl, which was finished quickly and replaced with another.

Shikamaru would've dozed off had he not thought of something. "Hey Naruto?"

"Huh?" He looked over at the lazy nin with a noodle hanging out his mouth. He quickly slurped it up.

"Have you seen any cheap places for rent by your place?" Blue eyes went wide.

"You're looking for a place too?"

Shikamaru raised a brow. "You too?"

"Yep. My building is getting torn down."

"That sucks."

"Yeah. I'm staying with the teme right now."

"Really?" He was surprised at that. "The Uchiha actually let you stay?"

"Well, it took some convincing, but yeah. For a week anyway."

"Ah."

"I've been trying to get baa-chan to help me out. She gave me a newspaper. But still, I don't have enough money to pay for a new apartment. I've got the money I would've paid for rent, but I know it won't be enough for any other place unless I find something around my old place. But most of them have been torn down too."

"Yeah, well my troublesome teammate keeps trying to get me to buy this apartment she likes. But I can't afford to pay 15,000 ryo."

"Why don't you just get a roommate?"

"It's too troublesome to have a roommate." Shikamaru sighed. He was starting to sound like a broken record.

Naruto shrugged. "Well yeah, but then you'd only have to pay half. Even I could probably afford that."

"Yeah but I'd have to deal with someone else around all the time. That would be a drag."

"Well, it's an idea." Naruto got up and stretched. "Ah! That was good. I guess I better go get the rest of my stuff out of the apartment and drag it to Sasuke's. See you around."

"Yeah." Once the blond was gone, Shikamaru left and walked toward home. He really didn't want to go there, but it's not like he had anywhere else to go. Kami, as much as he hated dealing with it, he really needed to hurry and find a place. "What a drag..."

If only he had 15,000 ryo. He wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

_"Why don't you get a roommate?"_ Everyone kept asking him that. He didn't want to deal with a roommate.

But...he didn't want to deal with Ino anymore either. If he got a roommate he wouldn't have to hear her constant complaining.

And it _would_ solve the money problem.

Most importantly, the sooner he got a place, the sooner he could be away from his mother's nagging.

He glanced back at the direction he just came from...where he had sat with Naruto....

Who needed an apartment, just like him.

--

_Please review. Let me know what you think. Til next time!_


	3. Roommates

**Summary:** Shikamaru is moving out of his family home. Naruto's apartment building has been slated for demolition. Neither make enough on their chuunin salaries to get a place in a decent part of Konoha. Together though…

**Pairings:** ShikaNaruShika

**Notes:** Just for the record, Naruto is 17, Shikamaru is 18. Everyone else who appears I'm sure you can figure out from there. This is somewhat AU I guess, since for purposes you will soon see, Sasuke is back in the village.

Don't hate me! Yes, I know I should be working on other things. However, this is the first time I've had inspiration since my mom passed away. So I figured I'll write this until my inspiration points me elsewhere. But, just to appease you all, I am in the process of editing Hiding Behind Masks. I'm figuring by the time I get done editing it all I'll have the new chapter in my head. I'll do the same with my other stories.

**Disclaimer:** Kishi owns it all...not me. I just like making the characters dance to my own tune.

* * *

**THE ODD COUPLE  
**

**Ch. 3 - Roommates  
**

* * *

_2 days later_

Sasuke awoke to the sound of banging. He was immediately up with a kunai in his hand. He knew the blond idiot slept like the dead, so it couldn't be him. He silently crept down the stairs. At the foot of the stairs he heard more banging sounds coming from the direction of the kitchen. Speeding to the kitchen, he raised his hand, ready to plunge a kunai in the unknown person's back....Until he saw that ridiculous hat.

"What the hell?" He muttered as the hand holding the kunai dropped to his side.

Naruto, still clad in his pajamas and sporting his sleep hat that he'd had since he was 12, heard Sasuke's voice and turned with a grin.

"Morning teme! I figured since you were being nice enough to let me stay here I'd return the favor by making breakfast."

Sasuke blinked. Naruto could cook? Since when?

And then he caught sight of the actual state of his kitchen. His eyes widened.

It was a mess.

No, more than that. It looked like one of Deidara's bombs detonated in it.

"What the hell?!" He growled, suddenly wide awake.

There was flour all over the counter and the floor. Egg shells also littered the floor. Pots and pans were everywhere. His sharingan flared to life with his anger and he walked further into the kitchen, only to slip and fall flat on his back. He groaned in pain. But, to add insult to injury, Naruto started laughing loudly.

"Here teme, let me help you up." He held a hand out for the Uchiha to grab onto. Sasuke slapped the hand away with a growl and struggled to get up on his own. It took another minute since his hands and feet kept slipping in the same spot, which he now knew was oil, but he finally got to his feet.

"N a r u t o..."

He was pissed. And it was written all over his face. Naruto, for a moment, thought he could actually see an angry aura around his teammate.

"Uh...teme?" Naruto timidly tapped him on the shoulder. Sasuke flinched away. "Look, it's no big deal. I'm going to clean it up."

"Yes, you are. Right now." He said dangerously.

"But...But, what about break-"

"NOW!"

"Alright alright...jeez teme, you don't have to yell." He grabbed a rag. "I swear, you try to be a bit nice..." Naruto muttered to himself as he started on his task. "See if I make you breakfast ever again."

Sasuke gave his forced roommate one last glare, turned, and walked out. He knew he was going to regret taking that idiot in.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Out."

"But breakfast-"

"I'm not hungry."

Sasuke was too angry to eat. He slipped on his sandals and wrenched opened the door to...Shikamaru?

"What the hell do you want?" He growled. The Nara raised his hands in a sign of peace.

"Whoa! I'm just here to see Naruto."

"He's in there cleaning up his mess." He replied and gestured behind him. "And it better be clean by the time I get back dobe!" And then he stalked off for destinations unknown. Shikamaru raised a brow as he watched the angry Uchiha stalk away. He shook his head, then shrugged and closed the door and walked toward the noise.

Naruto was still in the kitchen muttering to himself as he cleaned. He got on the floor and used a rag to wipe the oil off the floor. And that's how Shikamaru found him.

His eyes went wide at the sight of the mess before he chuckled and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"Troublesome...no wonder the Uchiha's pissed off." He almost felt the urge to turn around and leave and forget the whole roommate idea after seeing the state of the kitchen. That was exactly why he didn't want a roommate.

Naruto looked up, surprised to hear the voice. "Oh, hey Shika. What are you doing here?" The Nara almost started laughing again at the sight of his friend. The blond hair was partially covered by a ridiculous looking sleeping cap and his gray sweats were dotted with white flour and oil spots.

"I came to talk to you. And do I even want to know what you were trying to do?"

"What? I was just making breakfast. Che...that's the last time I'll bother trying to be nice to the bastard." Naruto stood up and created a clone who took over his job of cleaning while he brushed himself off and left the kitchen. Shikamaru smirked at the idea of making a clone to clean. And just like that, the roommate idea didn't sound so bad. That trick might actually come in handy.

Naruto leaned against the opposite wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "So, what's up?"

"Well, I found a place."

"Really? That's great."

"Yeah, but I need a roommate."

"I thought you didn't want a roommate."

"I didn't. Still don't. But it's not like I have a choice now."

"Oh, so you got that apartment you were talking about before?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah. It was better than having to hear Ino complain anymore."

Naruto nodded and smiled at his friend. "Well, I'm happy for you. I hope you find a roommate soon."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Troublesome idiot. I'm asking you." Naruto looked shocked.

"Me? To be your roommate?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru drawled. "Obviously, there will be some conditions." The blond waved him off.

"Whatever, I don't care. As long as it's an apartment. So when do I move in?" Shikamaru shrugged.

"Whenever you want I guess."

Naruto glanced back at the now much cleaner kitchen, thanks to the clone, then rubbed the back of his head with a hand.

"Good, because I have a feeling the teme is ready to throw me out already."

* * *

Chouji and Shikamaru wearily moved in the last of the boxes. It seemed like the task of moving had taken them the entire day.

"Phew! Looks like that's the last of it." As soon as the last box was placed on top of the others, Chouji wiped his brow with his hand. Shikamaru groaned and found a clear spot on the floor and collapsed.

"Finally! I just want to sleep now."

"What about the unpacking?" Chouji asked between pants.

"Too troublesome right now. I'll do it later. Besides, I want some peace and quiet before my new roommate gets here." Chouji shrugged and sat down next to his best friend. Shikamaru had already told him who his roommate would be, so he could understand the need for peace and quiet while it lasted.

"So when will he be here?"

"Don't know. But I better enjoy this while I can."

"OH SHIKA!!!!" A voice they both knew came from outside the door.

Chouji chuckled. "I think you jinxed us."

"Oh hell..." He muttered. There went his nap.

The door opened to reveal their female teammate with a bag in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other.

"One of you lazy bums could've opened the door for me, you know." Ino stated as she placed the bag on one of the boxes and then glared down at the two males with a hand on her hip. "I walked all this way with packages in my hands. Climbed all those stairs. Then I had to hold on to all of this in one hand just to open the door! One of you could've been a gentleman." Chouji looked down, slightly uncomfortable at his teammate's scolding.

"Sorry Ino."

"I didn't ask for any flowers or whatever else you have. Anyway, why are you here?" Shikamaru asked, not bothering with apologizing to his teammate.

"Che...why am I here? Why am I here?! This is your first day in your new place, of course! Which **I** picked out, by the way. We should at least have a team party or something to celebrate our new hangout." She replied with a grin.

"Well, if you're going to be troublesome enough to stay, then you can help unpack."

"No way! I'm not dressed for that. That's what you two are for. I took on the job of bringing the food."

"So like you to take the easy job..." Shikamaru muttered softly. Chouji heard and snickered.

Ino gave her teammate a predatory grin. "Now, where's this new roommate of yours? I want to meet him."

"He should be here soon. And you really don't need to meet him."

"Don't be stupid Shika, of course I do. It's only polite. And you can't just keep him all to yourself." She scolded and then she smiled. "So...is he cute?"

Both males rolled their eyes. They should've known she had ulterior motives for coming over. Shikamaru almost laughed. If only Ino knew....

"How should I know? I don't go around stalking guys like you do." He closed his eyes and hoped Ino wouldn't ask him anything else. Unfortunately, it was impossible to have that kind of luck with Ino around.

"Hey! I do not stalk!" She flipped her ponytail off of her shoulder and then attempted to give them an innocent smile. "I just like to know what my options are."

"I feel sorry for the men."

"Oh shut up. Anyways, you still didn't answer my question."

"Which one?"

"Duh! Is he cute?" He opened one eye to see her glaring down at him with her arms crossed over her chest. He sighed.

"I wouldn't know. I don't look at guys like that Ino."

"Actually, you don't look at girls like that either..." Ino grumbled.

"Why don't you just wait and find out for yourself when he gets here Ino?" Chouji interjected. Obviously, Shikamaru didn't want to divulge the identity of said roommate, so he wouldn't say either.

"ARGH! I swear I hate you both!"

"Then go away and let me sleep."

"No way! I want to know-"

"Watch out! Coming through!" Ino's eyes went wide as she turned around at the sound of the loud voice. Her mouth dropped open as a t-shirt and blue jean clad Naruto, along with a few clones of himself, came through the door with boxes. Each one disappeared into the back of the apartment. She turned back to her teammates. Her mouth opened and shut more than once as she tried to find the words.

"...Naruto?"

"Naruto?" Shikamaru echoed with a smirk on his face. As troublesome as his teammate was to be around, he loved to see her when she was like this.

"Naruto is your roommate?" She whispered.

"Yeah." He drawled out. She blinked and her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Why?"

The lazy ninja shrugged. "Why not. He needed a place to stay and so did I. Now you can't bug me about this apartment or not getting a roommate anymore."

"But...But...he's an idiot!" She forgot to keep her voice lowered.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Jeez Ino, you want to yell that a little louder. The Hokage couldn't quite hear you."

"Jerk!" Then she continued in a lower voice. "I bet he's a slob."

"So?"

"ARGH! You two deserve each other. The dead last and the laziest ninja in Konoha. I'm never coming to visit you two." She huffed and turned away with her arms crossed.

"But Ino, I thought this was going to be your new hangout." Shikamaru smirked at his blonde teammate.

"I changed my mind."

"Then why are you still here?"

Ino was saved from answering by Naruto, who was striding back into the living room - alone - while wiping his hands on his jeans. "Well, that was easy."

Chouji looked confused. "That's it? You only had 4 boxes of stuff?"

The blond's head shifted to the side. "Uh...yeah? I don't have much. The bed came with the apartment. And the rest of the furniture was too old to bother bringing. I just brought my clothes, weapons, scrolls and stuff."

"But...where will you sleep?" Ino asked.

Naruto shrugged. "On the floor, I guess. It's no big deal. We sleep on the ground during missions anyway. Besides, it's only until I buy a bed."

He saw the looks all three gave him and he sent them a huge grin and changed the subject before it got too awkward.

"So...what's in the bag?"

"Ino brought us dinner." Chouji replied.

"What do you mean us? I just brought enough for-"

"OOH...I'm starving! Ramen?"

"No, there's no ramen you idiot!" Ino's eye twitched.

Naruto had seen Sakura do that enough over the years to know what was coming and leaned back away from her just in case she tried anything lethal. "Uh...yeah...sorry...shutting up now."

Chouji leaned over Naruto's way. "Good move."

"She's as scary as Sakura-chan." Both of them shivered.

* * *

Shikamaru closed the door with a sigh as Ino and Chouji finally left. That woman gave him a headache. Naruto chuckled at the lazy nin's expression from his spot on the floor leaning against the wall.

"Headache?"

Shikamaru grimaced. "Yeah. How'd you guess?"

Naruto shrugged and gave him a hint of a smile. "Well, this is Ino we're talking about."

"Uh huh." He walked over and slid down to the floor next to his new roommate. Then he looked around at all the boxes. "This is going to be troublesome to unpack."

"You want some help?"

"Nah. You've got your own stuff to unpack." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Uh huh...all four whole boxes worth," he replied sarcastically. "Trust me, it'll take me all of two hours to unpack."

Shikamaru glanced at him before leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. He never knew Naruto to be sarcastic. Interesting...

"Hey Shika?"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you don't mind me as your roommate?" He heard Naruto fidget beside him and halfway opened his eyes to look at the blond.

"Why would I mind?"

"Well...I mean..." Naruto looked down at the floor. Shikamaru didn't need to be a genius to see where Naruto's thoughts were going.

"Other people are idiots." He hoped the blond knew what he meant. "If I didn't want you as a roommate, I wouldn't have bothered asking you."

They stared at each other for a moment. Naruto slowly smiled, then nodded.

Shikamaru was glad he did. He was too tired to deal with such a serious troublesome conversation. He got up and stretched. Then he walked toward his bedroom "I'm wiped. I'll bother with unpacking in the morning. Good night."

"Yeah...g'night." Naruto answered. A few seconds later he heard the door close. He got up slowly, his limbs protesting a bit after being in the same position for so long, and decided to take a look around. He didn't even ask what the place looked like when Shikamaru asked him about moving in. Hell, he didn't care. It was a roof over his head, and that was all that mattered at the time. Well...that and keeping Sasuke from killing him after the kitchen fiasco.

Now that he really had a chance to explore the place, he realized the apartment was huge. It was like three of his old apartment. The kitchen was almost as big as Sasuke's with lots of cabinets. He took the time to open each one of them. He walked back out into what Ino called the Living Room. He didn't care what she called it...it was big, even with the boxes all over the place. And what a view from the balcony! He smiled when he noticed that the faces of the kages were all facing him. He knew the balcony would end up being one of his favorite spots. It was much better than the faraway view from his old roof. After his fifth yawn in only a couple of minutes, he decided he might as well follow his roommate's lead and turn in for the night.

He got in the sleeping bag that he placed in the center of his room. Once he was comfortable and his eyes had gotten adjusted to the darkness, he looked from one side of the room to the other. And then he looked at the ceiling. His bedroom was the size of his entire apartment. It was going to take some getting used to.

But for the first time in his life, he wasn't alone.

He smiled.

--

**a/n**: So...here's the deal. When I got the idea in my head for this story, I just started writing. I never put together a plan for how this story would go or how the chapters would go, which is unusual for me. I usually at least end up with some kind of outline on paper or in my head. Anyways, I'm up for any ideas you can think of for crazy situations to put them in, since we all know you never really know a person until you live with them, right? XD And anybody who's read any of my other stories knows if you have a good idea, I'll include it somewhere. So, send those ideas through! Also, thanks for all the reviews. ShikaNaru's not a typical pairing, so I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.


	4. Hot Water

**Summary:** Shikamaru is moving out of his family home. Naruto's apartment building has been slated for demolition. Neither make enough on their chuunin salaries to get a place in a decent part of Konoha. Together though…

**Pairings:** ShikaNaruShika

**Notes:** Just for the record, Naruto is 17, Shikamaru is 18. Everyone else who appears I'm sure you can figure out from there. This is somewhat AU I guess, since Sasuke is back in the village.

Also, thanks so much for all of the reviews and ideas. Keep them coming! I love to see what you come up with. I already have some great ideas I plan to use. Credit for some of the ideas in this chapter go to Windschild8178. Some of the rest comes from my demented little mind. There's two reasons for the title of this chapter. XD And please feel free to let me know what you think of this one.

**Disclaimer:** Kishi owns it all...not me. I just like making the characters dance to my own tune.

* * *

**THE ODD COUPLE  
**

**Ch. 4 - Hot Water  
**

* * *

Sunlight streamed into the bedroom uninhibited since no shades hung from the window. The glaring light made a path right across the body of the sleeping blond. Naruto frowned at the offending brightness and blocked it by putting an arm over his eyes. Unfortunately it didn't help much. He groaned softly and turned on his side, away from the light, hoping he could continue from where he left off. But, unfortunately for him, the damage had already been done. He was awake now, and he knew from experience that once he was awake, he would not be able to go back to sleep.

"Just great..." He mumbled. "Stupid sun." He just slightly cracked his eyes open and sat up. On mindless autopilot, he got up and grabbed a towel that he purposely left partially hanging out of the box the night before and made his way out of the bedroom. He practically sleepwalked to the bathroom. It was amazing that he got there without bumping into a wall or two considering this was his first morning in the apartment. Apparently his subconscious was more awake than he was. After taking care of nature's call, he, as habit dictated, turned the knob of the shower as far it would go. With a yawn, he stretched his stiff body and then pulled off his clothes and sleeping cap. Then he stepped into the shower, expecting the shockingly cold water to awaken him as it always did.

"ITAIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!"

Shikamaru jumped up at the sound of the scream, his ninja senses wide awake. He ran to where the source of the noise was, with a kunai ready in his hand, and threw the door open.

He immediately threw a hand up over his eyes. "Aw jeez, Naruto..."

"AAAAHHHHH!!!!" Naruto jumped and turned at the sound of a voice and almost slipped and fell from having jumped out of the shower the moment the water touched his skin. His eyes went wide when his mind caught up with his body. "EEP!" With a blush, he grabbed the first thing he could find, his t-shirt, and held it up to his body to hide the important bits. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

Shikamaru slowly cracked opened his eyes. He was somewhat relieved that Naruto was at least a bit covered. "_You _were screaming."

"Oh...yeah...heh heh. Uh, sorry about that." Naruto was about to raise one of his hands to rub the back of his head.

"Dont!" The other male warned just as the fingers of Naruto's right hand were about to release the fabric. He squeezed his eyes shut. Naruto blushed again in embarrassment.

"Oops...sorry..." The brunet sighed.

"Whatever.... What was that about anyway?"

"Oh...uh...the water...it was hot." He looked even more embarrassed.

"Huh? That's all?" That's it?! That's what he jumped out of bed for? Shikamaru groaned and ran a hand over his face. "It's too early for something this troublesome," he muttered and turned around without another word to the blond and closed the door behind him.

Naruto could now add guilt to his list of feelings at the moment. He'd have to apologize later for rousing his lazy roommate. Right now though...

He grinned.

He slowly turned the knob back in the opposite direction until the water was no longer scalding. Then he happily got in the shower.

It was heaven!

He closed his eyes and moaned as the very warm water hit his skin and soothed his muscles. He couldn't even remember the last time he had the privilege of taking a hot shower. No matter how much he complained or how much rent he paid, he never had hot water for a shower. With a happy sigh, he turned around and let the water run down his back. No wonder people sang in the shower. He'd never understood such a thing before since he had learned at a very young age to make quick work in a cold shower. Jump in, lather himself down and rinse as quickly as possible, then jump out with goosebumps on his skin and teeth chattering from the cold.

Maybe he'd have to try singing in the shower sometime.

Naruto stayed in the shower for so long, the water began to get cold. With an extremely satisfied sigh, he turned off the shower and got out.

He was going to love living here.

* * *

In his bedroom, Shikamaru was on his bed slightly dozing after the early morning excitement. Man, he had hoped that finally being out of his parents house would give him a chance to finally sleep longer. Obviously not this day. He definitely hadn't planned on his first time waking up in his new apartment to be due to a scream. And he surely hadn't planned to see his roommate in that position. That was not something he wanted to see again. He sighed.

"Troublesome idiot."

What in the world was the big deal with the water being hot? He didn't have to scream. All he had to do was turn down the water. He didn't have to go waking him up. And it was his one day off from training too. It would've been nice to sleep in for once. And now that he thought about it, what was taking him so long? He's been in there forever.

Of course, now that his mind was awake and all of his questions were out of his head, he was reminded of the task that he would have to deal with today. Unpacking would most likely take him all day.

"What a drag." He groaned.

He heard the bathroom door open. 'It's about time,' he thought.

"Shower's all yours Shika." Naruto yelled from the hallway.

"Thanks."

Unfortunately, he had to go through the trouble of finding a towel. It only took him five minutes of searching in the front room to find the box labeled "bathroom" but it was five minutes too long for him. After finally getting a towel, he closed the bathroom door behind him.

He stepped into the shower and turned on the water.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

The water was cold.

* * *

Shikamaru sat on the floor and actually put forth the extra effort to glare at Naruto. He usually wouldn't bother, but this was a special case.

He hated taking cold showers.

Naruto was completely oblivious to his roommate's glare and happily slurped up his second cup of miso ramen from his stash he'd brought from his apartment. It took until after he finished the second cup and was opening the third for him to finally feel the pair of eyes on him. He looked up at the dark eyes boring into his own. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"My shower was cold." Naruto's head tilted to the side in confusion.

"Really? That's weird. Mine was nice and hot."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Obviously." He heard the evidence of that earlier. "But you stayed in there so long you used up all the hot water."

"Huh? You can use up hot water?"

He would've punched him, but he noticed the blond did look completely clueless about it. Naruto wasn't joking. He felt the sudden urge to face palm. As it was, he raised an eyebrow at the blond. "Of course you can."

How did he not know that? Everyone knew that! Then it hit him. Everyone who had a _family _knew that. Naruto never had the privilege - or punishment - of being the last one in the shower in the morning and being shocked by the cold water because the rest of the family used up all the hot water first. He had always been on his own. He never had to compete for the hot shower. In his family, whoever was the last to get into the bathroom in the morning always ended up with the colder shower. Naruto would never know about that. 'Insensitive ass,' he thought to himself.

"Oh. Sorry. It's just been a while since I had a hot shower."

Shikamaru's earlier thoughts derailed. He looked up sharply at the blond. Just when he thought his roommate lived on hot showers every day.... Wait, exactly how long was 'a while'? Well, now that he thought about it, his apartment had been scheduled for demolition. Maybe they turned off the gas early...but that didn't make much sense.

"Oh? Guess they turned off the gas before you moved out, huh?" He saw the slight blush on the blond's face and knew he was embarrassed. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it. Troublesome...maybe he shouldn't have asked.

"Uh...not exactly..."

O...K.... Now the wheels were really turning in the genius' mind. The only other reason to be without hot water was if he didn't pay the bill. With the embarrassment written all over his friend's face, that might be a more likely explanation. Or maybe the landlord was a real jerk and was being cheap. The place was a mess after all, long before being slated for demolition. Well, now he felt kind of guilty for bringing it up at all. But that didn't stop the next question from leaving his lips. "Hey Naruto, exactly how long have you been without hot water?"

Naruto's shrug was his answer.

Well damn.

He thought about it. He'd only been to Naruto's apartment once. That was about a year and half ago, back after Jiraiya the sannin had died. Even then, there were only a few tenants in the building, from what he saw. How could they all go without gas for so long?

"Why didn't anybody report it?"

Naruto looked down and gave a mirthless chuckle. "There was no reason for anyone to report it."

"Ah." There were moments that Shikamaru hated being so astute. With just those few questions and responses he had read between the lines and gotten the explanation for everything. The conclusions he reached made him definitely wish he'd never brought it up. Again, the Kyuubi. It made him wonder what else Naruto had done without because of his demonic tenant. He looked over at his new roommate whose head hung low, probably still embarrassed he figured. With a sigh, he stood and stretched. "Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore. Just don't spend so long in there next time."

The blond looked up with a surprised expression. Then he slowly smiled at Shikamaru. "Alright."

Another true smile. The second in two days. Shikamaru was beginning to grow a bit fond of that smile.

* * *

Sakura hummed as she made the long trek to her teammate's apartment on the other side of town. She needed someone to be her guinea pig and Naruto would be perfect for the part. Hanging on her arm was a basket covered with a cloth napkin. Inside was the latest version of her homemade chakra pill. It would hopefully be even better than the last ones she created. But for some reason, Sai seemed to always disappear every time she looked for him to test it out.

Stupid Sai...

But, there was always Naruto. He would do anything for her. He would be happy to be help her.

She got to the building and sighed in dismay at the dismal state of the place. She shook her head. Why did Naruto bother continuing to live there? There had to be somewhere else he could go even with his...um...extenuating circumstances. Especially now, since less people bothered him after the Akatsuki attack when he'd proven himself. She climbed the rickety steps up to the top floor. The bright note at the door stopped her from knocking. Demolition? Her eyes widened and she knocked at the door with urgency.

"Naruto!"

There was no answer and she pounded on the door with her fist. Her idiot teammate was known to sleep like the dead at times.

"Naruto! It's Sakura. Open this door before I break it down."

There was still no answer, despite the threat. She tried the doorknob, just on a whim, and the door opened. Her eyes narrowed and she pulled a kunai, just in case. Naruto never left his door locked. She crept inside the small apartment, on alert for anything unusual. The usual old furniture was in place. But...as she glanced around, she noticed the place looked empty. The pictures, the plants, everything was gone.

"Eh?"

Where could Naruto have gone? She wanted to kick herself. Lately, she's been so busy at the hospital and working on her new pill, she hadn't taken any time to visit either of her teammates. She didn't even know Naruto's home was about to be demolished. Hmm...now where could he be?

Maybe she should find Sasuke.

* * *

It was only 11:00 and Naruto smiled as he put the finishing touches on his bedroom. There wasn't much he had to do anyway. All of his clothes and weapons went in the closet. He had one box of things in the corner of the room that would have to stay there until he could afford some shelves and a bed. His plants went into the window. They would have as much sun as they wanted.

He sighed as he stood in the middle of his room and spun in a slow circle. A room with no holes, no leaks, fresh paint, no broken windows. It caused Naruto to do something completely unmanly. He giggled. He couldn't help it.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who heard it.

Shikamaru walked past the room right as his roommate made the less than manly sound and he poked his head into the room. The blond was spinning slowly in the middle of the room. It was quite an interesting sight and the lazy man couldn't help but shake his head a smile. He wasn't about to ruin the moment. He knew this was probably the first time Naruto had such a nice place to stay. He leaned against the doorway and watched with a small smile.

Naruto finished his slow turn and stopped abruptly when he caught sight of his audience. His eyes went wide and his face turned red. He glanced to the side.

"Uh...hi," he mumbled. Shikamaru smirked and raised an eyebrow. Naruto raised a hand to the back of his head and tried to stop blushing. The lazy nin decided to give the blond a break from his silent teasing.

"Well, looks like you're all done here."

"Yeah."

"Lucky you. I've hardly gotten started."

Shikamaru left after that and went back to living room. Naruto ended up following and chuckled at the mess. Obviously he hadn't been kidding. It didn't look like his friend had put much of a dent in the time they'd been unpacking.

"Uh, Shika? Did you actually start?"

Shikamaru turned to glare at Naruto until he saw the grin on the blond's face. He ended up rolling his eyes instead. "Shut up. It wouldn't be as much of a drag if I had some help."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Are you asking?"

"Are you offering?"

Naruto shrugged and got on his knees next to a box. "I'll help. It's not like I had much to unpack anyway."

* * *

First Sakura went to Sasuke's. She never spent much time on the Uchiha grounds, definitely not like Naruto did. So she had to wander around for quite a bit in order to find her teammate. She eventually found him training on his personal training grounds. He had built up a sweat as he worked out and it glistened in the sun and highlighted his shirtless muscular frame. Sure, she was supposed to be asking him a question, but she couldn't help admiring - aka, staring - at her teammate as he trained. He looked so good with his dark hair blowing in the wind as he jumped, flipped and moved from one stance to another. Sure she'd gotten over her crush on him, but she still couldn't deny his attractiveness.

Sasuke had felt her when she first showed up, but he continued his routine in the hopes that she might go away and leave him alone. But his wish wasn't granted since he could feel her staring at him and it was making his skin crawl. He had hoped she would've gotten over her obsession with him while he'd been gone.

"What do you want Sakura."

The pinkette stepped out of the bushes she had been hiding behind with a blush. "Uh, hi Sasuke. How are you doing?"

"Hn." The Uchiha raised an eyebrow as if to say 'Get to the point or go away.'

"So...uh...I was looking for Naruto."

"Well, as you can see, he's not here." He replied with a wave of his hand around the grounds.

"Well, yeah. But I was wondering if you knew where he was."

"Why would I know that? I'm not his keeper."

"But, I checked his apartment and it looks like he left for good."

Sasuke sighed. He knew the only way he could get rid of her was to give her the information he had on the Naruto. The stupid dobe always made his life harder.

"He stayed with me for a couple of days when he knew his apartment was going to be demolished. But he found an apartment and moved in yesterday."

"Where?" He shrugged.

"Don't know. Don't care. He's sharing with Nara."

"Shikamaru?"

"Hn." Sasuke walked off into the trees. Sakura had learned enough over the years to know that it was his version of a dismissal. She turned and walked away.

It was time to go talk to Ino.

* * *

For the next two hours they both worked together on unpacking. In that time they got most of the boxes unpacked. They were just starting to work on putting his array of books and scrolls on the bookshelf when they got a knock at the door. Since Shikamaru was too lazy to move fast enough, Naruto went and opened the door to Chouji.

"Chouji!"

"Hey Naruto."

Shikamaru raised a hand in greeting.

"I come bearing lunch." Chouji said and raised a big bag in his hand for emphasis.

"FOOD! Awesome!"

"Yep. I was about to come over to see if you needed any help unpacking when my mom stopped me. She felt it was her duty to make sure we had a good meal while we unpacked."

"Your mom's the best Chouji!" Naruto said with a grin.

"You haven't even tasted her food yet."

* * *

Ino sighed as she watched everyone walk by the flower shop from her stool at the counter. She was so bored. Her mother took advantage of her only day off training and asked that she watch the store so she could run the errands that had been piling up. It's not like she could say no.

And it just had to be one of those slow days.

She'd rather be training than sitting here bored to death. She gave another sigh and looked down at the magazine she had already read more than once. The picture of the beautiful woman on who knows what page it was stared at her unblinkingly. She had the urge to chuck the whole thing in the garbage.

Ugh...so bored....

She flipped another page. Great...the newest fashion, blah, blah, blah....Ugh!

The jingle of bells had her looking up as the door opened. Finally! A customer. And then at seeing who it was, she grinned. Her day had just gotten better. There was a god after all.

"What are you doing here forehead?" she asked with a grin.

"Shut up Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled while making a fist.

It was their standard greeting. The greeting was almost as famous as Konoha's most well known duo of nicknames - Dobe and Teme.

"Make me."

Sakura glared at her best friend. "I would but your parents would probably kill me for destroying their shop."

"Hmph...as if you could."

She cracked her knuckles loudly. "Don't try me Ino."

Ino started laughing. Sakura joined her.

"Thanks. I needed that." Ino said with a smile. "I've been soooo bored. Mom's got me stuck here while she runs errands. So, what are you doing here?"

"Actually, I was looking for Naruto."

"Huh? Naruto. Why would he be here."

"No, I don't mean looking for him here. I mean, I'm looking for where he lives. Sasuke said he and Shikamaru moved into an apartment. But he didn't say where. I figured since he's your teammate and all, you would know."

"Ah yes, well, I do happen to know where they live. I helped Shika find the place, after all. How about you do me the favor of hanging out here and keeping me company until mom comes back. Then I'll take you over there."

Sakura shrugged. "I guess that's ok. You really must be bored."

"Yes, I am. So bored I can hardly stand it. Now let me in on some juicy gossip." Ino leaned forward with a conspiratorial grin on her face. Sakura responded with a grin of her own and leaned her arm on the counter. There's always time for some good gossip.

"Well..."

* * *

After filling themselves up on great Akimichi cooking, all three went back to unpacking. Soon Naruto and Shikamaru had developed a routine. Naruto got the books out of the box and passed them to Shikamaru who put them on the shelf in some semblance of order that Naruto didn't understand. Meanwhile, Chouji was organizing the kitchen. Once they finished their respective tasks, that would be that.

Popular music played from the radio they eventually found amidst all the boxes. Naruto and Chouji did their best to sing along while Shikamaru cringed at the sound of their voices and shook his head at his troublesome friends.

"Come on Shika! I know you want to join in." Naruto yelled with a grin at his counterpart.

"No...just no."

"Aww, don't be a spoil sport."

"Yeah Shika."

The shadow nin stared at his best friend. "Oh no, not you too."

Chouji grinned and grabbed his friend by the arm.

"What a drag. Chouji, I said no."

"Not taking no for an answer."

Meanwhile Naruto had found a big spoon and started singing into it like a microphone and dancing around. Then he took another spoon and tossed it to Chouji who took it and started singing as well. Both of them sandwiched their friend and sang the chorus. Then they thrust their spoons in Shikamaru's face.

He gave a long suffering sigh. "You're not going to leave me alone until I do this are you."

Both of them grinned. "Nope." Naruto replied for the two of them.

"You're both troublesome, you know." With a roll of his eyes, he grabbed one of the spoons and started halfheartedly singing the verse. Chouji and Naruto started laughing and Shikamaru glared at both of them. It was bad enough he even knew the lyrics to this horrible pop song. But singing it aloud....

"I hate you both."

"We love you too Shika." Naruto replied.

* * *

Ino and Sakura stood at the door waiting. They had already knocked twice, but the noise obviously kept the boys from hearing. Sakura was now tapping her foot as she got more irritated. She was just about to knock the door off it's hinges when Ino's voice stopped her.

"Argh! Whatever." Ino pulled a pin from her hair and knelt in front of the lock. Sakura raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"What in the world are you doing?"

Ino smirked. "What does it look like I'm doing, forehead? I'm picking the lock."

"INO!"

"What? You want to see Naruto or not? I'm not going to stand here all afternoon waiting for those idiots to open the door."

Sakura shrugged and let her do what she wanted.

The blonde concentrated on her criminal act, jiggling the pin in the lock until she soon heard the click that told her the lock was successfully disengaged. She gave her companion a self-satisfied smile and stood up.

"All done!" She twisted the knob and opened the door. Sakura and Ino's mouths dropped open as they walked in on the strangest sight.

Chouji and Naruto had an arm around Shikamaru and all three of them had spoons in their hands as they - well, the latter seemed like he got dragged into it - danced badly to the music. Both tried to hold it in. But then Ino snorted and that triggered Sakura's giggles. Then they started laughing hysterically.

All three males jumped at the sound of laughter and turned to see the two girls standing there holding their stomachs as tears rolled down their faces. Naruto was used to attention like that and now that Sakura was there, he hammed it up even more. Chouji, the most easily embarrassed of them, blushed and stopped singing. Shikamaru wasn't embarrassed about it, but he still groaned. He knew Ino would hold this over his head forever. He'll never hear the end of it. And knowing her, it'll somehow end up all over the village.

"Oh wow...If I only had a camera!" Ino said through giggles.

"Better yet, a video camera." Sakura replied.

Shikamaru grumbled. "Ino, what are you doing here?"

"Sakura was looking for Naruto. I figured I'd be a good friend and show her where he lived."

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled with a smile and bounced over to her.

Sakura responded by hitting him over the head. "Idiot! You could've told me you were moving. I was worried when I came to your apartment and found out it was being torn down and couldn't find you."

Naruto pouted and rubbed his now sore head. "Sorry Sakura-chan. I didn't have much of a chance to see you between trying to find a place and all."

She gave him a smile in response and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm glad you found a place. Somehow, I just can't see you two as roommates though. It's just...odd."

"No, what was odd was what they were doing just now." Ino snickered. "Naruto I expect to do something like that. Maybe even Chouji, as long as it's not a lot of people watching. But Shika? I never knew you had such talents."

"Shut up troublesome woman." He moved to the safety of the kitchen, away from the girl's teasing, with the guise of putting away the used spoon.

"You were looking for me Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. Sakura smiled and held her basket up. He paled slightly.

"What is that?" Chouji asked, not knowing that he was digging his own grave. Naruto was already looking for a way out. Maybe he could do a substitution and run away. Or maybe shadow clones can distract her. Shikamaru saw Naruto pale from his spot in the kitchen. That was enough to send him danger signals and he figured he was better off staying out of the way.

"Oh, this is my new creation. I've been working on making a new chakra pill that would be even more enhanced than my last ones. You should try one."

Naruto slowly moved closer to the door, hoping Sakura would continue to focus on the larger male. Poor Chouji, he didn't want to feed him to the wolves, but survival of the fittest and all...

"Ok." Chouji took one.

"You too, Naruto. I was hoping you'd test them out for me."

Naruto stopped at the voice and cursed to himself. He had almost made it to the door too.

"Well, I..."

"Please Naruto? I was hoping Sai could help me, but he's never around."

'Probably because he's running as far away from you and your poisonous pills as he can.' He thought to himself. But then she gave him that Sakura sad smile and dammit, he fell for it again. He couldn't resist those eyes. He sighed and did his best not to cringe at what he was about to do.

"Fine."

Ino, meanwhil,e went and grabbed her lazy teammate by his arm and pulled him out of the kitchen. "You might as well let Shika try it too. Then you'll get three opinions."

"That's a great idea Ino!"

'Oh hell.' Shiikamaru thought. He looked at Naruto who glanced at him with an apology in his eyes. That didn't make him feel any better. He had been thinking how bad could it be, but after that look, even he was scared.

Sakura handed the two of them a pill each about the size of a large gumball. They were a very unappetizing looking brown and Shikamaru did his best not to look too disgusted. Naruto was already starting to look a bit green and he hadn't swallowed it yet.

"Well, come on. Try it. Tell me what you think." She said while looking hopefully at the three males.

The three of them took a gulp first and then took the pill.

Chouji turned red.

Shikamaru used all of his training to keep a straight face, but sweat suddenly appeared and trickled down his face.

Naruto looked even more green as he swallowed.

"Well?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide in anticipation of a glowing review.

"Are you trying to-" Shikamaru got a painful elbow from his roommate.

"It's great!" Naruto said with a raspy voice. "Better than before."

"Really?" She asked. The three of them put on convincing (or painful) smiles and nodded in agreement. Chouji had a huge grin on his face. Or was that a grimace?

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said as she hugged all three of them. And then she was out the door.

Ino smirked at the three of them as if she knew that they had just gone through torture. "I'll be going now. Don't fight over the water now, you hear?" Then she laughed. Right before she closed the door, she poked her head back inside and gave them a geniune smile.

"You guys really are good friends."

And then she shut the door.

Naruto instantly ran for the toilet, gagging.

Chouji ran for the kitchen and grabbed a cup and started drinking water like he was parched.

Shikamaru didn't even bother with a cup and drank straight from the faucet.

At some point the three of them found their way to the floor in the living room. They still looked quite pale. Ino was only partially correct. They had to be the greatest friends ever to endure such torture.

"Kami! I swear she's trying to kill off all the ninja in Konoha." Naruto groaned. Chouji moaned and held his stomach. Even someone with his palate had lost his appetite after that.

"What a drag. In one day I've been awakened by a scream, had a cold shower, got caught singing by the two biggest gossips in Konoha, and got poisoned by the chakra pill from hell."

Shikamaru was beginning to wonder if he might've been better off staying at home if this was his preview of what he'd have to endure by having the most unpredictable ninja, Uzumaki Naruto, as his roommate.

"Troublesome."


End file.
